Presbyterian Church of Ghana dedicates health centre for Antwirifo community
The Presbyterian Church of Ghana PCG on Wednesday dedicated new buildings for the Presbyterian health Centre at Antwirifo, a farming Community in the Dormaa Central Municipality in the Bono Region.
The Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, Rt. Rev. Prof. Joseph Obiri Yeboah Mante, who dedicated the building said the facility would make healthcare readily accessible to the people, particularly in the detection of minor sicknesses like headaches and the provision of other services such as ante-natal and post-natal care.
He advised pregnant women to visit it frequently for examination to prevent infant and maternal mortality.
The Moderator said the Presbyterian Church of Ghana has played and continues to play significant role in the health sector in the country especially in the rural areas.
He said the church engages in social services as a command from the Lord. “We do them because that is the on the heart of the Lord Jesus Christ (Mathew 25:36-43). We therefore have a command from our Lord Jesus Christ to deliver social services in the communities, including Antwirifo to serve humanity” he said.
Rt. Rev Prof. Mante said in obedience to this command, the Presbyterian Church of Ghana is the third largest single provider of health services in the country. He said currently the Presbyterian Church of Ghana runs a total of 57 health facilities with a total workforce of 4, 041 and total beds of 1,598.
The Moderator noted that, in the course of providing health care, the Church recognized the need to have adequate number of personnel for its health facilities, therefore health training institutions were established for that purpose. Currently, these institutions, including the one at Dormaa-Ahenkro, train nurses and midwives for both church and public health facilities.
The Moderator commended the Minister of Health who is also the Member of Parliament for Dormaa Central Mr Kwaku Agyeman Manu for the role he played in ensuring that the buildings are completed on time.
He also saluted the Rev Wilberforce Takyi, a Presbyterian Minister and a native of the town and his family for making their house available to start the health centre in 2010.
The Moderator presented a personal cheque for five thousand Ghana cedis (GHC5000.00) to be used to buy mower to weed the compound as a way to ensure that the place is kept neat at all time.
He also pledged that the Church would construct a pavilion to be used for weighing and other purposes. The Chief Executive Officer of the Christian Health Association of Ghana (CHAG), Dr Peter Yeboah also pledged to support the project with GhC10,000.
The Moderator commended the chief of the town, his elders and the entire Antwirifo community for the key role they played in getting the Minister of Health to support the project.
Giving a historical background of the health centre, the General Manager of the Dormaa Area of the Presbyterian Health Services, Rev Dr Isaac Apea said that the health centre was inaugurated as a clinic on 5th August, 2010 in a private premises of a Presbyterian Minister and his wife, Rev. and Mrs. Takyi, a native of the town.
Source. Presbyterian Media.
